Broker Check

201 Office Park Drive, Suite 300, Birmingham, AL 35223

205.612.4507
brian.smith@ironlegacyadvisors.com
Financial Planning

Iron Legacy Wealth Advisors · Birmingham, Alabama

Wealth Management and Exit Planning for Business Owners and Their Families

When most of your wealth is tied up in your business, your exit plan and your family's financial plan have to work together. Brian R. Smith, CFP®, CBEC®, a financial professional for over 30 years, and our team help business owners and families create, preserve and transfer wealth.

Request a conversation or call 205.612.4507, Mon–Fri, 8 AM–5 PM

  • Brian R. Smith, CFP®, CRPC®, AIF®, CBEC®, QPFC®
  • Financial professional for over 30 years
  • Office in Birmingham, AL

Check our background on FINRA's BrokerCheck

Who we work with

We work with clients at different stages, but most of our planning centers on business owners and the families who depend on what they have built.

Business owners

Owners of closely held companies who need a plan for the business and for their own finances, including what happens when they step away.

Business owner planning →

Affluent families

Families who want to preserve what they have built and prepare the next generation to look after it.

Estate planning strategies →

Professionals, executives and retirees

People planning for retirement income, taxes and an estate, often alongside a long-term attorney or CPA.

Retirement planning →

Family farms

Farm families with much of their value tied up in land, and questions about who takes over and how.

Succession planning →

Our core specialty

Exit and succession planning for business owners

Selling a business or handing it to the next generation means many decisions at once. Brian holds the Certified Business Exit Consultant (CBEC®) designation. He helps owners compare their options, then works with their attorney, accountant and appraisers through the process.

Options we help owners compare

  • Transfer to the next generation
  • Sale to private equity
  • Employee stock ownership plan (ESOP)
  • Sale through a business broker

Business Exit Readiness Index

A short survey on how ready your business is for a transition.

Take the survey →

Owner Dependency Index

See how much your business depends on you day to day.

Take the survey →

Explore succession planning

Financial planning for your business, your retirement and your family

Exit planning often leads to other questions: what to do with the proceeds, how to pass on wealth and how to fund retirement. We cover those too.

Business owner planning

Advice on executive compensation, corporate retirement plans and benefits.

Business owner planning →

Financial planning

Goal-setting and cash management.

Financial planning →

Retirement income planning

Withdrawal strategies, Social Security and healthcare planning.

Retirement planning →

Investment management

Risk assessment, portfolio development, asset allocation and tax-sensitive rebalancing.

Investments →

Tax strategies

Tax return review, cost basis review, qualified charitable distributions and Roth IRA conversions.

Estate planning strategies

Legacy planning coordinated with your attorney, who drafts the documents.

Estate planning strategies →

Our Mission

Our mission is to work with business owners, affluent families, and other successful individuals to create, preserve, protect, and transfer wealth through objective, tailored, financial advice.

Lincoln Financial Advisors is now Osaic FA, Inc. Any reference to Lincoln Financial within these files should be disregarded.

Our Vision

We believe we can positively impact our community and society by providing guidance to business owners and affluent families in the stewardship and protection of their resources, so that they can have the maximum impact on their families, employees, and the communities in which they live.

Learn more

Meet Our Team

Brian Smith

Brian R. Smith, CFP®, CRPC®, AIF®, CBEC®, QPFC®

205.612.4507

Gretchen Smith

Gretchen Smith

Client Services Manager

205.383.9642

Ashton Wylie

Ashton Wylie

Director of Marketing

205.803.3333

Mason Smith

Mason Smith

Client Services Manager

205.910.2965

The strategies we build together address four key needs: covering essentials, ensuring lifestyle, preparing for the unexpected and leaving a legacy.

Our Four-Step Process

Step 1

Collect

Data-driven analysis is the foundation for everything we do.

Step 2

Develop

Individualized strategies ensure that your goals are always a priority.

Step 3

Create

Our comprehensive financial management means we're ready to address your every need.

Step 4

Implement

We put the plan into action with your attorney and CPA.

How we work

Where we work

Our office is in Birmingham, Alabama. We focus on clients in Alabama and the Southeast, and we also work with clients in other states where we are licensed. Contact us to confirm we can work with you in your state.

Iron Legacy Wealth Advisors
201 Office Park Drive, Suite 300
Birmingham, AL 35223
205.612.4507
Get directions

Our Wealth Solution

Honesty and Integrity

We strive to provide you objective, unbiased advice.  Your best interest always come first.

Empathy

 Listening intently and with empathy allows us to understand your needs in order to provide the best value – added services and solutions.

Caring and Consistent Advice

 We ensure you know you are cared for and passionately work to help you toward reaching your goals for creating your desired legacy.

Comprehensive Approach

We analyze every aspect of your financial lives to ensure our recommendations are always appropriate and always in your best interest.

Family and Health

We truly value our own families, as well as our clients’, and we encourage each other to achieve optimum financial, spiritual, and physical health.

Resource Center

What is a CFP

A CFP® is a Certified Financial Planner™ that is certified by the CFP® board of standards

Learn more

Client Center Documents

The following forms are for your use during our meetings.

Learn more

Articles and calculators

Articles, videos and calculators on retirement, investments, estate, tax and insurance topics.

Browse the library

Common questions about financial and exit planning

What does a financial advisor do?

A financial advisor helps you set objectives, review your finances and decide what to do next. Our process has four steps: collect data, develop your objectives, create recommendations and implement them. The decisions stay yours.

When should you hire a financial planner?

Common reasons to start include selling or handing over a business, nearing retirement or deciding how to pass on wealth. If you already work with an attorney or CPA, a planner can coordinate with them.

What is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional?

Anyone can use the title "financial planner." Only people who meet CFP Board's education, examination, experience and ethics requirements, and who renew their certification, can display the CFP® marks. Read more about the CFP® designation.

What is exit planning for a business owner?

Exit planning prepares a business and its owner for a future transfer, whether to family, employees, an outside buyer or private equity. It looks at what the business is worth, how much it depends on the owner, the tax picture and what the owner needs personally afterward. Starting early leaves more options, because some changes take time to put in place. More on succession planning.

Do you work with clients outside Birmingham?

Yes. Our office is in Birmingham, Alabama, and we also work with clients in other states where we are licensed. Contact us to confirm we can work with you in your state.

Planning a sale, a succession or your retirement?

Tell us what you are planning for, and we will explain how we can help. Call 205.612.4507, Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM, or send us a message.

Request a conversation

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